Ants Marching
by Izi-chan
Summary: a young girl is put through the rigors and stresses of band camp. will she survive with her sanity intact?


A/N: This isn't exactly the best story out there, but I have my reasons for putting it on the web..  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own all of these characters. Muahahaha!  
  
  
  
Oh, God! What am I doing?!? It was a cheerful sunny summer morning. Perfectly aquamarine, not a cloud could be spotted anywhere in the endless sky and the air held the faint odor of cool wet grass. Everything was perfect-almost. Jen could not stop herself from shaking. As over one hundred and fifty of her colleagues energetically made their way on and off of the five charter buses, she hovered timidly next to her mother. Band camp had not even started and Jen already wanted to go home. Why am I going? I don't know anyone here! Why couldn't we have waited to move until I had finished high school? What was so bad about Vermont anyways? It was so much nicer than here in Proaits, Nebraska! Grimacing, Jen followed her mother as she squished one week's worth of her clothing into the luggage compartment of bus number four. And what was Mrs. Thompson talking about? Initiation? It sounds awful! -Just do what the seniors say and you'll be okay- Doesn't sound like very reassuring advice! I'd give anything not to be a stupid freshman right now!  
  
"Jen, are you going to be okay?" a brown haired woman of about thirty eight years, Jen's mother, looked worryingly at the uncomfortable girl. "You seem upset." Shaking her head, Jen just sighed. "I'll be okay. It's just the first time I've gone anywhere for a whole week without really knowing anyone...I'll be fine!" Although afraid, the stubborn thirteen year old didn't want to admit her fear. Her mother saw through the bravado. "Don't worry. I'm sure everyone makes lots of friends at camp. Next week at this time you'll know lots of people." Mother smiled at daughter. "Looks like the buses are about to leave. Hug?" The embrace was cut shout by a shout from the band director. "Everyone on the buses now! We need to leave!" "See you in a week!" Jen looked back one last time to her mother and entered the vehicle that would transport her two hundred miles away from everything she knew.  
  
***  
  
Groggily, Jen tried to reorient herself to the new surroundings as she slowly awoke after a rather lengthy nap. The bus ride had actually surprised her by its mildness. Expecting much worse, she was more than happy to sing silly songs and play stupid games with the rest of her age mates. Except for her least favorite game, "pass the cucumber", Jen even found parts of the ride rather entertaining. Even time for a nap! Jen yawned as the thought filled her head. She tilted her head to look out of the large bus window and discovered that they had finally, after five hours, arrived at camp. Slowly, tired faces and energetic seniors filed off of the bus, without too much pushing and shoving. Hmmm....it seems nice enough. Wonder where my cabin is.... Camp Ohiyadumi was a nice camp. Completely surrounded by lushly forested green hills, the secluded hideaway was totally cut off from mainstream life. Vast empty fields held nothing more than a few scraggily bushes. A few small structures could be seen along the parameter of the property. In a world of its own, the camp was the perfect spot for practice. Everything looks so big! Jen ogled at the size of the wide open spaces between everything. Standing next to the buses with her luggage, the freshman tried not to look scared. She really had no idea where to go. All the boys were heading down a road that meandered past a football field, towards the biggest hill in camp. The girls, on the other hand, all followed the road in the opposite direction. Past an open field, past a lonely tennis court, Jen could almost make out the rectangular shape of a cabin or two. Might as well start heading towards my cabin. If I can find it! Don't even remember who I signed up with! Someone has to have a list somewhere... "Jen!!! Wait up!" The voice startled her out of her confused musings. The young clarinet turned around and smiled at a friendly face. The voice had belonged to one of the clarinet playing drum majors, Elise. Because they had gone to the same middle school for a year, Elise had given Jen lessons from time to time. Jen felt fairly comfortable around her friend. "Well Jen, since you are a freshman and I am a drum major, you get to carry my stuff back to our cabin!" Elise's voice sounded almost apologetic, but Jen didn't mind. She bent down and grabbed the heavy bag without complaint. Feet digging into the loose gravel road, the two clarinets made their way to the girls' cabins. "Hey Elise? I'm kind of lost here...Where is everything?" Laughing, the drum major was glad to answer. "Well, you see the big grey house on top of the hill? That's the great house where we eat and have sectionals. Next to it is the nurses' station and the buildings where the instructors sleep. You probably wont be visiting there very often. The big field right in front of us isn't really used for much. Once in a while we have playing rehearsals or brass sectionals here, but that's about it..." "But where do we march?" "Oh, you'll find out soon enough! It's back in the direction we came from, next to where the buses are parked. We'll be spending more time there than we do sleeping!" "Great, I'm thrilled." "Don't worry! You'll get the hang of things sooner than you think! It really isn't that bad." The cheerfulness in Elise's voice was detestable. "Here we are! Cabin number three. I think we get an hour or two to settle in before practice starts. So get your bunk set up. Here, I'll take my bag now." Elise grabbed her bag from a dumbfounded Jen, who still looked confused. After a minute, Jen realized that she still didn't have her things. Afraid of having her luggage abandoned in the middle of the road when the chaperones finished unloading the buses, Jen forced herself to run back down the gravel path to the front of camp.  
  
***  
  
Practice wasn't scheduled to begin until four o'clock, so Jen found herself with an extra half hour of free time. Not knowing what else to do, she finished setting up her bunk and headed outside. It really was a nice view, right from the cabin. Surrounded by a sparse spacing of trees it was possible for one to fully appreciate the beauty of the area without moving anywhere. The girl's cabins sat right on top of a hill; on a cliff overlooking the emerald waters of Lake Corsikof. Jen allowed the warm lake breeze to wash over her as she gazed out at a passing sea gull. The sounds of the lake would be pleasant come bed time! She could see all the way down to the rocky beach thirty feet beneath her. Aside from a few nesting gulls and a solitary crane it lacked the activity one normally expected from such a place. Everyone was probably already heading over to the great house for practice! No. Jen looked at her watch. She still had twenty minutes. But...to be on time is to be late. To be early is to be on time. Jen guessed it was impossible to get anywhere early. Might as well start heading over...Head spinning, Jen made her way back to the cabin to get her clarinet. Before she could even take three steps, a voice caught up with her - Dawn, a fellow freshman from the same section. "Hey! What's up? Like the camp?" Jen smiled. She had just met Dawn a few days ago. She still felt a little self conscious around her, but things were looking good. "Oh, not much! Figured I'd head over to practice a little early. You wanna come?" Jen thought that it might be nice to have someone to walk with. Two people had a better chance of finding where they were going. Dawn replied without hesitation. "Sure, but I need to ask a favor. I got a letter from one of the seniors saying that I have to bark like a dog whenever we get called up to ready front. Will ya do it with me?" Thinking that it probably wasn't the best of ideas, Jen cautiously replied, "Well, how will they know if you do it or not? And what will they do to you if you don't do anything?" "The letter said that they would know. Oh, c'mon! It'll be fun! We don't want to upset the seniors!" "Well, okay...I guess." Hesitation could still be heard in the freshman's voice. "Good. Hurry up, we need to get to practice!" Finding the warm-up area did not pose as much difficulty to the two clarinets as they thought. With plenty of time left over, both Jen and Dawn got their instruments out and stuck wooden reeds into their mouths. Noticing Jen grimace, Dawn asked what the problem was. "Oh, it's nothing! Been playing for over four years and the stupid reeds still taste god awful!"  
  
She shrugged. "Yeah, I know!" Dawn had to agree. "Oh, here comes McW. Still gonna do it?" "Whatever. I'm not going to bark loudly though!" Standing in front of two large arcs of wind players, Mr. Mc Waltor didn't waste any time before starting practice. "Okay band!" The stern voice sounded almost...content. "First day of band camp! We have to make this a good rehearsal. If we tell ourselves 'oh, it's only the first day.' we are letting ourselves down. We need to constantly strive to get better. We can never be good enough. Welcome to band camp!" Mr. Mc Waltor paused to adjust the small black microphone around his neck. It had stopped working again. "Okay, let's start with a b flat Remington. Watch me for the tempo. Ready...front!" "Arf!" Giggling quietly, Dawn and Jen looked at each other as their faces turned red. "Think anyone heard?" "Lets hope not!" Embarrassed, Jen just wanted to get on with practice. "Horns up in two!" clap clap clap clap "and up, two! That wasn't together! I saw a trombone come up late. And flutes! You need to SUBDIVIDE!!!" Practice went on anyways. Reverberating throughout the hills, the band created an awesome sound. Parents up at the great house paused in their work to listen, totally in awe. "No! It wasn't good enough! I heard a trumpet frack a note and a flute hold over too long. Breath with me. In for four and out for eight. Constant air stream! Your lungs should be empty by the end of the exercise. If you can still exhale at the end, then you are breathing incorrectly!" Uneasy glances passed throughout the band. People began to look a little lightheaded. Starting to see black spots in front of her face, Jen decided she had to take a break. "Okay! Enough! Next, I want brass glissing; dah de da do dum...Mouthpieces only! Woodwinds! Slow sixteenths! Keep them even! Ready...front...and hit!" Moving as one, the arc sprang to life, actually in perfect tempo for once. "Arf!" "Parade...rest!" "Dawn! He heard us!" "No he didn't! Don't whisper so loudly!" Jen looked away from her friend in time to see a red faced band director glaring at a group of senior saxophone players standing at the far end of the back arc. Things did not look good. "Band! Enough is enough! Initiation is fine, but it needs to stay out of rehearsal. Telling someone to make animal noises during the ready front is distracting and takes away from the focus level. I am not mad at the freshmen, but the seniors who told them to do that. If it happens again, everyone will be punished." Uneasy glances were passed throughout the arc. "psst....well at least we don't have to bark any more!"  
  
***  
  
The next couple of days were not easy, but Jen began to get used to the rigors of camp. The four hours of marching each morning always seemed to last the longest. The heat, hunger, and fatigue would set in and Jen would feel overwhelmed. But things were never hopeless. Even at the worst, the freshman knew that she was getting better. She was even coming to enjoy parts of camp. To her surprise, the clarinet player found that the best part of the day occurred after dinner. The sun sat low in the sky and the whole band would march and play through the drill they had learned that day. Although difficult, it felt good to be part of such a great group. Wednesday found everyone at such a practice. The band was working on Symphony #5, the third piece of the show. It wasn't as hard as it could have been... The whole band was in a huge cover down block for the first twenty four counts of the piece. They weren't even playing - it was a pit break. In theory, the whole block would use that twenty four counts to move backwards and across the field. The block existed only in theory though. Jen was having trouble staying covered down. Every time she would come close to being right in her line, the alto saxophone player at the very front would march too fast, leaving the rest of the line behind. Hey, even I can march better than that! Stupid! Slow down!!! Don't the instructors see that this guy can't stay in a line??? Oh good. Here comes McW to yell at him. About time! ARRGH! Back to set one, do it again! It's been almost an hour since the last water break and its getting awfully dark. Shouldn't practice be ending soon? Of course not, we're GLENNVIEW! We have to march until we kill ourselves in the dark! Repeated once, twice, three times, finally the block seemed to stay together. "Jen! You need to march with bigger steps! The line is leaving you behind" Sighing, Jen continued on with rehearsal.  
  
***  
  
Practice was finally over! Completely drained, Jen made her way over the piles of clothes in her cabin to the nice warm bunk waiting for her. She slipped into her pjs and slid under the covers of her bed. Her whole body ached. Arching her back, Jen tried to release some of the tension from her sore muscles. Snap! Ahh...much better. It felt SO good to lie and think about nothing at all. Jen never wanted to move again. "FRESHMEN! GET UP!!! TO THE TENNIS COURTS!!!" It was a cry that drove an icy fear into the hearts of many a freshman. Slowly, cabin by cabin, sleepy, pyjama-clad 13 and 14 year olds could be seen filtering onto the half lit tennis court. An angry flute senior seemed to be in charge. "We start by taking role! As your name is called, stand up and scream 'Seniors, I am here. Please abuse me!' You must be LOUD!" After pacing around the timid freshmen once or twice, the senior- Rachel-proceeded to take attendance. Jen wasn't amused. Great. Wasting my sleep time taking role! This is so dumb. Wonder what else... "JEN YUUKI!!" Eh...? Oh! "Seniors! I am here! Please abuse me!" Sitting down hastily, Jen couldn't help but feel stupid. Wonder what we get to do next. Hmph...With the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if he have to WORSHIP the seniors! "Next everyone form a big circle- it's time to worship the seniors" Jen just groaned. Well, I suppose this is slightly amusing after all...Ahhh...when I'm a senior...I'm thinking that this whole "worship the seniors" idea will stay. I think I can come up with a few more creative ideas than this years seniors. Maybe a bit of sabotage...hmm... "Enough" Now a dark haired trumpet-Lita, took control. The grin on her face could be felt more than it could be seen. "Time for a bit of calisthenics!" Cali-what?  
  
***  
  
As Jen finally got into bed she didn't know whether she felt like laughing or screaming. Initiation had been...an experience. After running laps, doing jumping jacks and sit-ups, the highlight of the evening had been when Jen was assigned the role of a pig in the game "farm". Oinking hurt her sinuses. Jen fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Morning would come all too soon.  
  
***  
  
Ahh! At last it was almost over! Jen mentally congratulated herself on completing a full week of band camp. It actually had been rather uneventful. Jen had secretly thought that life in band began and ended at camp. Well, there's still the dance that starts in a half hour or so. Wow! I can hardly believe it's Friday already! The freshman picked up a brush and began rhythmically stroking her hair as she thought. I had hoped to make more friends...True, I have grown closer to Dawn, but I still feel so darn uncomfortable around most everyone else! Well, if I tag along with Dawn enough, I'll eventually meet more people. Hmm...And I haven't even had a good chance to check out the guys yet! I suppose I'll have the next four years to do that. "Jen! Hurry up! We have to stop off at another cabin before we head to the dance!" The abrupt knocking at the door startled Jen into flinging her brush halfway across the room. "Dawn! Come in! I'll only be another minute or so!" Entering with a flourish, Dawn wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Wow...your cabin...what happened, a tornado?" It was true. Clothes strewn everywhere, beds half made, and food left out - the room desperately needed a good cleaning. Making an effort to control the mess, the drum major Elise had thrown her things onto her bunk. She only succeeded in destroying her resting place. A foul odor was being emitted from somewhere in the vicinity of the ceiling. Jen just blushed and proclaimed that it was BANDCAMP after all! "Never mind. Are you ready to go yet?" Still looking for her brush in a pile of soiled undergarments, Jen gave up. "Let's go. Who's cabin are we going to?" "You know Miaka! She's been my best friend since kindergarten!" "Ahh..." Jen did not remember Miaka. "She plays clarinet too." "Ehh..." "Long blonde hair, really tall..." "Ah, maybe I know her." "Never mind. You'll meet everyone soon enough."  
  
***  
  
A definite sense of frivolity could be felt throughout the camp. Jen noticed that everyone looked more relaxed. Girls experimenting with exotic hairstyles and unusual makeup could be seen in most cabins. The cloudless, star clad skies only seemed to enhance the feeling with its twinkling lights. Making their way past several ancient evergreens, Jen and Dawn finally arrived at the other cabin. They were immediately assaulted by the noises and smells of berry perfume, madly flying hairbrushes, blow driers, and beads. Jen hid a tiny grin as she noticed that the cabin was just as chaotic as the one she had just left. Everyone in the room was sitting in a half circle trading stories. It seemed as if she and Dawn had entered right in the middle of a discussion about which boy the girls were going to dance with. One girl looked particularly pleased. With a smug smile, Erica Tekani, a first year saxophone player, proudly exclaimed "I'm going to dance with the boy I like!" Her sing song voice oozed with anticipation. "Well who is it?" Everyone else in the cramped room seemed to have no idea as to which boy it could be. "Nuh Uh. You gotta wait until after I dance with him!" Of course, everyone couldn't wait to find out who this mystery boy was. Jen pretended to be politely intrigued as she looked around the alien room. Everyone looked so...perfect. Maura had just finished braiding her hair and Emily had put on a final coating of lipstick. Everyone in the room had changed into fresh outfits, obviously dressier than the normal band camp garb. Looking down uncomfortably at the hole in her redwing shirt, Jen couldn't help but feel inferior. It was going to be a long night. "Hey Dawn, are you ready to head out to the tennis courts?"  
  
***  
  
Jen was bored. The music wasn't any good, everyone seemed way too hyper for the end of a week of band camp, and the young clarinet was tired of wandering about the small tennis court. Sighing, the freshman looked up at the star clad sky from her position at the fence at the north end of the court. Positively stunning. So why am I stuck here by myself...? Jen hadn't spent the whole night alone, she ran into Elise and chatted about the show for a while and she spent a lot of time in the vicinity of Dawn's group of guy-crazed girls. But somehow they seemed immature and stiffelling after a while. Jen needed some time to think by herself. I suppose I can't spend the rest of the dance out here by myself. Maybe if I look like I'm enjoying myself I'll find someone to talk to. After pushing her way through a plethora of marchers, Jen found herself surrounded, once again, by a group of Dawn's friends. Well at least they're familiar faces! So Jen stayed, not really attempting to talk to anyone, yet trying, unsuccessfully, to look like she was having fun. Experimentally, she swayed back and forth to the beat of the music and grinned at no one. This really isn't working. You'd think that someone who can run while playing an instrument would have at least some sense of rhythm. I move like a smiling rocking chair! Everyone else seems like they're having so much fun. Unhappily she dropped all pretenses of amusement and looked around at the other dancers. Movement seemed to come naturally to everyone else. Even the few people who were moving twice as sporadically as Jen had just been were happily admired by others. And everyone else was part of a cluster of other people. It seemed as if the young clarinet was the only single person under the stars. Jen started to back up and did what she was best at - feel sorry for herself. What's wrong with me? Why do I always have to be so quiet? There are plenty of nice people in the band, why can't I just go up to some of them and start up a conversation? Why can't I be eloquent or clever like everyone else? I am so tired of being ignored. Am I always going to feel this lonely? She scowled and turned her head to gaze at the crowd of people to her left. Huh? Jen had to look back behind her again just to make sure she had just seen what she had thought she did. Her jaw would have dropped open, had her face not been paralyzed by shock. It was purely electric. His eyes...they seemed to be what was holding Jen down. She marveled at how piercing they were without really noticing the color. They seemed to be able to tear her apart and read her every thought without any effort at all. They were knives ripping at her sides, instantly narrowing the world down to the three meters of paved ground surrounding their owner and the young clarinet. They were begging her to come closer and loose herself in their gaze. They were... As Jen started to return to her senses, she began to notice a little more about the person standing mere feet in front of her. Soft, shaggy, dark hair lazily fell down the sides of his head; the tips just barely brushing the tops of his ears. Combed to the side above forehead, the lively brown mass posed no threat of covering those amazing eyes. Slowly sloping down his face was a long pointed nose which dramatically ended just above a broad, masculine pair of lips. The strong, hawk like face ended in a blunt rectangular chin. In short, he was the most attractive male that Jen had ever seen. Jen realized, all of a sudden, why his presence felt so large and foreboding- he had to have been almost a whole foot taller than her. Jen had completely forgotten about everything else. In the split second that their eyes met, Jen came up with thousands of reasons why band would always be interesting. He went back to chatting with Dawn's guy- crazed friends and Jen walked away to find anyone. She didn't mind that she didn't try to say anything to him that evening-why she had four whole years to get to know him! Only after the dance had ended and people were reluctantly filing through the tennis court doors did Jen find Dawn. With a crooked smile, Jen announced that she had seen an interesting guy. "You see that tall guy over there? Do you know what his name is?" "Him?? With the grey Yellowstone shirt on?" "Yep." "That's Darien." "Darien. Do you know what instrument he plays?" "How should I know? Percussion maybe?" Dawn didn't seem to be that impressed by Jen's new favorite. Mind full of absolutely nothing of any value, a question materialized in Jen's brain from out of nowhere. "Hey, did you ever find out who Erica danced with?" "Yeah. It was Darien." ***  
  
Saturday had finally dawned, bringing with it cool crisp air and a deep cerulean sky. The lazy sunbeams falling out of the few clouds illuminated the burned faces of the marchers standing in an arc for the final time on the band camp marching field. Everyone was excited; it was the annual "show and tell" run through of the new show - the final run through before everyone would finally leave camp. Standing proudly in her white polo shirt and knee length black shorts, Jen scanned the crowds of spectators sitting in front of the field. She knew that her parents had promised to come and watch the performance but she couldn't pick out their faces in the chaos. Absent mindedly, she fingered through a tricky sixteenth note passage on her clarinet and turned her glances from the crowds to the marchers standing before her. As Mr. McWaltor moved the arc out into position, centered on the fifty yard line, Jen tried scanning the percussion section to see if she could catch another glimpse of Darien. Disappointed at not seeing him in the pit, the clarinet figured that he he must be a member of the back field drum line. "Welcome everyone to the annual 'show and tell'! The students have been working extra hard this past week and have managed to put together quite a show so far. Without further ado, I'd like to start the performance by playing through our traditional Bach Chorale warmup piece. For you new band parents out there, you'll be hearing this song a lot, as it is what we play on the field to warm up before our shows." In the simple act of turning around to face the band, McWaltor's face instantly changed from the cheerful disposition that greeted the plethora of spectators to the ugly grimace that dared any windplayer to make a mistake. "Okay band, horns up in two!" Clap clap clap clap..."Horns up!...and up...two...hit!" Whoa! Jen blinked. Did he say horns up in two or three? I specifically heard him say horns up in two, but he gave us three counts to do it in! Whatever... Jen's musings were cut short by the mellow sounds of the beginning of the chorale. Apparently, the week's worth of nonstop practice had payed off; not only were correct notes played, but the pitch was acceptable, and slight variation in dynamics could also be detected. The young clarinetist tried not to smile as her instrument sang through her music. She had never been in an ensemble that had sounded so good before. Upon the completion of the chorale, it was then time to perform the actual show. The slow and somber opening theme floated gracefully throughout the hills without a hitch. Followed by a cheerful Americana tune, the melody kept the audience captivated. The second movement of the show did not go as well as the first though. Originally a spiritual ment to be sung, the music was supposed to be played with a legato and emotional sound. Secretly, the whole band thought of this song as 'the easy piece' and did not put as much effort into its playing as was necissary. This was quite obvious to the audience as the low brass did not effectively blend with the rest of the group. A few reeded instruments could be heard above the texture of the music. Symphony #5, the third piece and Jen's favorite, went relatively well in Jen's mind. But then again, Jen would have thought it went well even if the band had fallen apart during the performance. She loved the exciting, complex rhythyms of the song more than anything she had ever played. It surprised Jen that the band went on to play the show's closing song. The music had just been passed out that very morning and it was still rather unfamiliar in everyone's minds. Jen figured that the music was easy enough- all half notes, but still...Wasn't it a bit early to be performing it? Apparently neither the audience nor McWaltor seemed to mind. Jen supposed it went well enough. The truely frightening part of the performance occured when the band set up in formation on the football field to actually march through some of their show. Although surrounded by many of her friends and colliegues, Jen had the horrible feeling that everyone was looking directly at HER! With the metronome left on, Jen knew that she could stay in step with everyone around her, but she was frighetened that she would miss a set and destroy the pictures the band was trying to form. After the first run of the first piece, Jen felt a little better about the show. She remembered where to go on the field and could actually play her music while moving. Unlike some people I know! Jen quietly laughed to herself at all of the other whiney freshmen who were too scared to try and actually play while marching. It really wasn't too hard once you learned how the sets lined up with the music you played... As the band made its way to the third movement, Symphony # 5, Jen knew she was doing fine. She was truely relieved to find out that Mr. McWaltor gave the band pauses in between each piece so that they could recover the form. Standing in the middle of a huge block of marchers, right before the start of #5's twenty four count coverdown, the young performer couldn't help but smirk. Wonder if Boy-Who-Cannot-Stay-In-His-Line will be okay... Maybe McWaltor should get a leash and tie him into the rest of us. Can't have him running off during the middle of our first performance! Glancing up at the young alto saxophone at the very front of her line, Jen forced herself to surpress a growl. Even from behind, that profile was unmistakeable... Darien! As perfect and sexy as you are, you really need to learn how to march!  
  
***  
  
Well, it's really over... Jen casually played with the seatbelt strapping her to the appolsered chair in har father's minivan. The atmosphere in the vehicle felt as alien to Jen as Camp Ohiyadumi had only one week before. She couldn't explain it; the previous week felt like it lasted for an eternity. Not that the actual days went by slowly-Jen simply felt like she hadn't been home in a month. It distinctly felt wrong just to buckle up and drive away from camp so easily. Yet at the same time, the week had flown by. Never given the chance to sit and contemplate anything that was happening, the young clarinet found herself rushed from activity to activity without ever really realizing how much she was accomplishing. Time stood still at bandcamp. Once inside, nothing else mattered. Glancing out of the right hand window, Jen watched as rolling green hills, densly packed with trees, melted into the quaint cityscape of the area. A man was walking a dog. A child rode his bycicle. A young woman led a group of children to buy ice cream at the local Dairy King. It was strange to see normal, non-band related activities. It definately felt odd. Jen couldn't specifically identify what it was, but she got the gut feeling that something significant did happen at camp. It was as if someone had opened the door to a whole new set of possibilites for the future. No matter what happened, Jen was dedicated to the band and the people in it. I feel different somehow. Perhaps something did happen at camp. Turning around, her mother smiled as she saw Jen staring out of the window. "So Jen, how was camp?... Did you meet anyone?"  
  
  
  
Fin. 


End file.
